Judge revokes bail for Cunningham figure

A federal judge revoked bail and issued an arrest warrant yesterday for Long Island financier Thomas Kontogiannis, a key figure in the Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandal.

Kontogiannis has been free on bond since pleading guilty in February. He was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, but the hearing was postponed because he underwent open-heart surgery last week, his lawyers said.

But his medical problems did not insulate him from U.S. District Judge Larry Burns, who said Kontogiannis has continued to break the law since pleading guilty.

Federal prosecutors said in court papers last week that Kontogiannis has “continued to orchestrate the writing and sale of fraudulent mortgages – several million dollars worth since his guilty plea.”

That allegation reinforces accusations first made in another set of filings in September by Raymond Granger, the lawyer for Kontogiannis' nephew, who is charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the Cunningham investigation.

Prosecutors said then that they had no knowledge of what Kontogiannis was doing. But in a court filing last week Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Forge said the government “obtained clearer indications” of Kontogiannis' wrongdoing recently.

On the basis of that, Burns said that as soon as doctors say it is OK for him to leave the hospital, Kontogiannis will be placed in federal custody pending his sentencing.

The judge said he was concerned Kontogiannis might flee before his sentencing. “He's not going to be left to his own devices,” Burns said.

Kontogiannis' lawyer said that he has been unable to go over the government's accusations with his client and that it could be dangerous to Kontogiannis' health to jail him right after surgery.

Kontogiannis pleaded guilty to laundering $1.1 million in bribe money for Cunningham. The government is seeking a 10-year prison term.

Cunningham, a former Republican congressman from Rancho Santa Fe, admitted accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. In exchange, he used his influence to steer lucrative federal work their way. He was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

One of those contractors, Brent Wilkes of Poway, was convicted of bribery and other charges last month.

Recently, Wilkes' lawyer sought to have his verdict overturned on the basis of government misconduct. Defense attorney Mark Geragos asked the judge for permission to subpoena 20 people, including prosecutors and news reporters, to prove grand jury information had been improperly leaked to the media about Wilkes' pending indictment. The reporters included two from The San Diego Union-Tribune and one from Copley News Service.

Yesterday, Burns denied the request.

“Having been convicted by a jury . . . Wilkes must now show the fairness of his trial was prejudiced by the grand jury leaks,” Burns wrote. While the judge said he too was concerned about the leaks, the “violation of grand jury secrecy rules does not, of itself, justify dismissing the indictment.”

The jurors were asked before trial what they had heard about the Wilkes case, and none said they had read the articles about the pending indictment. So the government misconduct – if any occurred – had no effect on the verdict, Burns wrote, and Wilkes is not entitled to a new trial.